Rural–Urban Disparities in Access to Digital Education: A Comparative Study of Female Students at the University of Jammu

Background: Digital education has taken a crucial role in higher education in India, but its gains are not equally distributed between geographical and socioeconomic groups, and rural women face additional disadvantages. Objectives: To explore the differences between digital education access of female students from rural and urban areas of the University of Jammu. Method: The study used a purposive sampling technique to select 57 (28 rural and 29 urban) female postgraduate (PG) students and Ph.D. research scholars at the University of Jammu during 2025–26, who were administered a structured questionnaire with 32 items in 6 sections. The variables addressed: device ownership, internet connection, use of learning platforms, digital literacy, barriers, and support of learning institutions. Applying the following tests: chi-square tests (Yates corrected and Fisher's exact test); independent samples t-tests; effect sizes (φ, Cohen's d). Findings: There were significant rural–urban differences in device ownership, home connectivity, platform use, digital learning time, digital skills and satisfaction with institutional support. Personal smartphone ownership: 42.9% rural vs 86.2% urban (χ² = 9.93, p = 0.002). Home internet availability: 35.7% rural vs 89.7% urban (χ² = 15.57, p < 0.001). Estimated mean daily digital learning: 1.5 hrs rural vs 2.5 hrs urban (t(55) = −3.86, p < 0.001). Among the rural respondents, the most frequent primary barrier was "family restrictions" (35.7%), while the most frequent primary barrier among the urban respondents was "insufficient digital skills" (41.4%). The Composite Digital Access Index (CDAI) mean was 2.86/10 (rural) vs 8.03/10 (urban) (t(55) = −11.17, p < 0.001). No significant differences were found in computer-lab use, awareness of institutional digital-literacy programmes or perceived availability of campus Wi-Fi. Conclusion: The digital disadvantage faced by rural students of the University of Jammu is significant and multifaceted compared to their urban counterparts. Rural women lack access to digital higher education due to a lack of infrastructure, socio-cultural barriers and limited computer and information literacy. There is a need for targeted institutional and policy interventions.